You can do a number of things with both the skin and the flesh, and seeds of the African Star Apple. At the start of my exploration, I didn’t realise how much of the flavour was in and could be extracted from the flesh. The notes below chart my progress with this fruit that can be drunk hot or cold, used in mocktails and cocktails. All hail the versatility of le fruit. I’ve observed that drinks with the skin and seeds tend to be clear while those involving the flesh end up cloudy. Interesting. Agbalumo Drink (Skin & Seeds) Quite frankly,...
Three (3) Sweet Recipes with Pawpaw
Pawpaw. Papaya. Suited to sweet.and savoury preparations. Spiralised Pawpaw. Fruit & Tea. Bruleed Toast. By now, you would know I have OCD. Compulsiveness in most of my ways. Like when I discover a new ingredient or see it in new light. You must know that I become consumed with it, using, learning, smelling, tasting, photographing it. I’ve had Pawpaw for most of my life, in its ripe form. Then a few years ago, I discovered the beauty that was it, ‘green’, in a salad. I also learnt that in parts of Nigeria – northern parts, it is used like a...
Don’t Bother With This Amarula-Tamarind Cocktail
As in seriously, trouble not yourself. For if you seek rich and cream, you’ll end up with yuck, the texture of grit and curd. When tamarind syrup meets cream at first, nothing much happens but gravity. I marvel at the gorgeous whirls stirred up just by pouring one drink into another. I get the umbrellas out. And then I stir and the result is disgusting – curdled milk. I can’t imagine this is what those of old enjoyed in possets. It ends up down the drain. No time-wasting. Proof that pretty to start off with, isn’t always pretty in the...
Friday Mocktails: Tsamiya Soda
or Tamarind Soda, in the manner of Jarritos’s Tamarindo. All that is required is tamarind syrup, topped up with soda water, tonic water or ginger ale. The plain tamarind syrup is nice, but I love the tamarind-ginger version as the flavours are very gingerale’sque. You’ll need ice, a stirrer and an umbrella. Just because. You’ll pour the syrup on the rocks and top it up with soda water and not much will happen but gradients. Worry not, the best is yet to come. Sit and stare. Watch it for soon, the transformation will occur. Get your stirrer ready. And in coordinated fashion,...
The Makings of Tamarind Syrup
I opted for cold-brewing dried tamarind. I rinsed the pods in water and put them in a jar. Then I topped up with sugar and water and refrigerated overnight. I gave it a few shakes in the course of its rest, to encourage the sugar dissolve and extract some of the earthy flavour of the tamarind. The next morning, the liquid had turned a nice brown and had thickened a bit. I cooked the mixture, two ways. One batch was plain, with additional sugar – tasting to sweeten. The end result was a brown liquid – sweet and tart, sour...
How To Process Agbalumo
Another look. Consider this the follow-up to The Anatomy of Agbalumo post. In the last few months, I’ve learnt more about agbalumo than I ever though, from its versatility as an ingredient to its nutritional qualities, its provenance across West Africa from Nigeria to Ghana, where it is known as Alasa, Alansa, Adisaa in Twi. The sweetest ones I’ve had are the ones I got this week – red-fleshed, huge and soft to the touch. Really juicy and from Benin Republic. These are the ones I used them in my Agbalumo liqueur. Looks Udara. Agbalumo. White star apple. Chrysophyllum albidum. African star apple,...
Tamarind: Sweet, Dried, Velvet
Sweet, Sour & Earthy, tamarind is common across India, Thailand, West Africa and other parts of the world in various forms. Taking its English name from the Arabic, tamar-hindi, meaning “Indian date,” tamarind is typically used in equatorial cuisines, such as Indian, Mexican, and Thai. Also known as imli, tamarind is used as a souring agent in many cuisines, especially those of South and Southeast Asia; Fine Cooking Pre-2012 I know only tamarind of the velvet sort – Icheku, the Igbo name is what I grew up calling it. The Yorubas say Awin. I buy it in huge bunches and snatch seeds...
How to Chiffonade Scent leaves & Other Herbs
Soft herbs with wide leaves like scent leaves, basil, mint make great chiffonade. Chiffonade, French for ‘made of rags’ is an easy technique with beautiful results, like in the scent leaf bits which garnished my Tuwon Shinkafa in pepper soup. Here’s how to chiffonade soft herbs Wash leaves. Arrange in a pile. Roll length ways into a tight ‘cigar’ Using a sharp knife, slice 1 – 2 mm rings across the ‘cigar’ from one end to the other. When you’re done, fluff up the cut ends with your fingertips to separate the shreds. Use immediately as the edges will darken. Sprinkle over soups,...
Salted Agbalumo Caramels
If at first you don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try again. Whether that be in love or toffee. No, I don’t give up that easily. Where powdered milk and glucose wouldn’t do the trick to form a delightful Agbalumo toffee, cream, maple syrup and light corn syrup did. While I applaud my genius and daring at exploring the combination of toasted egusi seeds, dried agbalumo and caramel, I have to say I found it vile. All I could taste was sweet egusi and that friends was plain wrong. Just wrong. Moving on swiftly, the other half, sans egusi seeds was...